Marriage & Divorce Information

Disclaimer: This information is supplied to
American citizens planning to get married in Sweden. The information also covers cases where an American citizen plans to marry a Swedish citizen/resident. It is accurate
according to Swedish law, but may be subject to change. The Embassy can
therefore not assume legal responsibility for the information herein.
U.S. citizens seeking detailed advice on marriage in Sweden should
contact the Swedish Tax Authorities (Skatteverket), which may be reached at phone number 0771-567 567 (from within Sweden), or at phone number +46 8 564 851 60 (from overseas).

Getting Married in Sweden

According to Swedish law, all
non-residents/non-citizens of Sweden who wishes to get married in Sweden
should present a document from their home country stating their marital
status. Since in there is no national registry in the U.S., no
equivalent national document can be obtained from the U.S. However,
certain states/counties may issue a document regarding a person’s
marital status, or a so-called “Record of No Record”. Check with your local County Clerk’s office, or Vital Statistics office, to find out if
such a document is available. If not, ask the office, if possible, to
put in writing that no such document exists in the particular state. You
may easily find the websites of these offices by using a search engine,
such as Google.

The Swedish tax authorities are aware of the
difficulties in obtaining a document relating to marital status from the
U.S. If no such document is available from your home state, and the
county clerk’s office or Vital Statistics office, would not give you a
written statement regarding the unavailability, the Swedish tax
authorities (Skatteverket) may waive this requirement. Make sure to
check with the tax authorities.

In addition, the following regulations should be considered if applicable:

If previously married – Evidence of termination
of previous marriages is required in the form of a certified copy of the
final divorce decree or a certified copy of the record of death of the
deceased spouse. The officiant may require that the divorce decree be
authenticated by the issuing agency. (For more information regarding
authentications, please see Notary Public Services in the column to the left of this page.) Swedish law may also require that the divorce be confirmed by a Swedish Court of Appeal (Hovrätten);

If a minor - Parents’ or Guardians’ consent is
required of an American citizen who is a minor (under age 18). Consent
must take the form of an affidavit executed by both parents, or by the
guardian;

If serving in the US armed forces - Members of
the U.S. Armed Forces should check with their Commanding Officer
regarding the necessity of permission to marry.

Make sure to contact the Swedish tax authorities
well in advance of your planned wedding to make sure you are in
possession of all necessary documents.

Please follow the links below for the information you are interested in: